Orcs
The creature before you looks almost human, if not for its exaggerated teeth, green-tinged skin and overly brutish features. Orcs, also called "Orks", are a hardy, green- or tan-skinned race of humanoids which possess prominent tusks, usually on their lower jaw. They are very distantly related to elves, though the historical animosity between the two races is well-documented. Orcs are dazzled by bright sunlight and often wear helmets or live in regions where the days are shorter in winter. They occasionally interbreed with humans, creating half-orcs. Sawtooth Vale Orcs are native to the Sawtooth Vale and, according to Yeslick, have lived there for centuries. They live in a tribal community where strength, spiritualism and skill in the survival arts are praised. For a time they were led by a young king who took command through combat and exiled the elders who opposed his views. Originally from the east, he brought with him the trappings of civilization, which he was integrating into the lives of the native orcs. The king was killed and the orcs appear to be returning to their traditional ways, with some adjustments. The king's Fortress has been repurposed as a lodge to house the tribes, and the orcs have requested that the Pathfinders help them improve their medicines and carpentry. The orcs who live here are apparently well-known by others who live beyond the wall. Their fighting force was powerful enough to be formally recognized by the hobgoblins of Legio XIII; the Dead Nation strove to use their numbers for their own devices, and to that end, the Necromancer's Fifth was actively strengthening their numbers with alchemy. The frost giants of the Winterpeak Mountains alluded to an animousity with them, and even the distant Thunderbird Tribe is aware of their presence. The elders of Alsea also know of this group, and have reported that while the late king held sway they were moving west of the Winterpeak Mountains. Grethor Grethor or "Shadow" is a term orcs use to describe a concept that merges honour, strength and power. The larger one's grethor, the larger their shadow is said to encompass. The larger the shadow, the larger the orc, and many orcs respect the largest, and thus most powerful of their kin. While orcs have little written rules describing the gain and loss of grethor, the concepts are taught to them as children. Honourable acts such as defeating foes in a fair fight, slaying monsters, or having multiple wives or children increases grethor, while cowardly actions, disrespect towards elders or tribesmen reduce one's grethor. To insinuate a lack of grethor is a considerable insult, that must be answered with violence or a show of force. Lore (An orcish creation myth) Long ago when the Creator made all the animals, he washed his hands in the fountain of life and made the peoples of the world. With his strong left hand he made the orks, and with his soft right hand he made the elves. When done, he washed his hands again, but the fountain was emptier, and what he made next was smaller, and these creations became the short people of the world. The orks lived in the caves and the elves lived in the trees. Orks hunted game that fed on the grasses and the elves ate the grasses. When the elves ate too much grass, the game would go hungry and become fewer, and so the orks became hungry and fewer. The elves were few in number and lasted many seasons, while orks were blessed with fertility and a youthful life. The elves, cursed with their elder years came to bitterly resent the orks, and believed each themselves greater than the orks. Discontent and war loomed on the horizon. The orks and elves came to a great meeting in a great longhouse to settle on peace. It was decided that to know the other, they would each eat the food of the opposite tribe. For sake of honour, orks ate the grasses and elves ate the flesh of animals, and many of both tribe died from poisons. A wise man suggested that balance lay in not eating only one tribes' food, but the food of both tribes. They then ate both the flesh of animals and the green grasses of the world and they lost their tusks and pointed ears and became the first humans. The humans lived neither in caves nor trees, but in stone and wood buildings, reminiscent of their ancestors. The orks and elves were at first pleased by these creatures who seemed to live peacefully with orks and elves. Unfortunately, the mixed blood in the human caused him great anger and fury, and he lashed out at the same mixed-blood of his brothers. The curse of the humans is to hate his own race and make war upon himself. In time that same blood would cause the humans to make war upon their ancestors, so the tribes of orks retreated far beyond the plains of man, so that in his ceaseless war against his brothers he would leave the orks in peace. Category:Sawtooth Vale Category:Creature